Here at eXplorminate, we’re always on the lookout for 4X games and 4X-like games that we think our community will be interested in. Recently, we found a game called Slipways, a pseudo-4X meets puzzle-like strategy game that definitely caught our eye. We reached out to the developer, Jakub, and were pleasantly surprised to hear that he was eager to talk about his game. So, we took advantage of his enthusiasm and asked him some questions! Read on to find out more about Slipways!

1) Hi Jakub, can you please tell me more about yourself and what you do for a living? Is Slipways your first project?

I’ve been making games as a hobby for my entire life. Since I was a little kid, I played video games and desperately wanted to make ones of my own. Before I ever learned how to code anything, I used to draw imaginary mockups in Deluxe Paint on my trusty Amiga 600 (that probably dates me a bit) and dreamt about the games they would become. Later on, this led to learning to code and starting a career as a programmer.

Until recently, making games was only a hobby I pursued in my free time, after various programming day jobs. I made the transition into actually thinking of “game developer” as an actual full-time thing only about two years ago. Since then, I’ve worked in the game industry a little bit, but I’ve found I prefer the indie life and the creative freedom that entails – though I’m not a fan of all the stress that comes with it!
I do have a few released games, but until now, they were all freeware/pay-what-you-want titles. Slipways is indeed my first attempt at making a commercial game and sustaining myself from game-making alone, but it’s definitely not my first big project.

2) Slipways plays a lot like the child of a 4X game and a puzzle game, can you tell me more about its design?

Slipways started from two core ideas. The first one was the slipways themselves: making a game that would be more about connecting planets together than it is about managing each planet separately. The second idea stemmed from my love-hate relationship with most space 4X games: I love the depth and grandeur they offer, but I often feel bogged down by micromanagement, especially in the late game. They also tend to have a high barrier to entry. I wanted to make a game that would distill the core ideas of the genre into their simplest form, removing all sources of busywork and allowing even more casual players to enjoy the feeling of building a well-thought out network.

This focus on simplicity and game flow has pulled Slipways quite a bit in the “puzzle” direction. I don’t tend to think of it as a puzzle game, personally, since there is never a single solution to the problems the game poses – but I understand where you’re coming from. I think that thanks to the way the game is put together, both hardcore 4X gamers and more casual players can find something to love in Slipways.

3) The supply system in Slipways is very reminiscent of the 4X game Star Ruler 2. Any inspiration drawn from that game?

I only heard about Star Ruler 2 after a Slipways player mentioned it 🙂 I have tried it since then, and while there are surface similarities, Slipways is much more “spatial” in its approach to trade – where your planets and resources are matters much more than in SR2. They are very different games, of course, but I enjoyed seeing another 4X title focused on the exchange of resources between planets instead of each planet being an isolated island in the vast ocean of space.

4) There’s currently no combat in Slipways. Do you plan to change that?

I did Twitter and Discord polls among the players of the original on this topic. The consensus seems to be that while a military aspect would be a nice addition, it doesn’t feel like it’s a priority – and some people even preferred the chill, laid-back experience when there are no enemies to worry about. I’m a mostly solo developer working on a tiny budget, so I decided to cut my plans for military stuff in favor of having more resources to devote to the core economy-based gameplay. That doesn’t mean there will be no tension to the gameplay – but it’ll come from other mechanics. I’m not saying no to a later expansion/DLC that would introduce combat – but I’d still keep it streamlined, like the rest of the game is.

5) Can you tell me about the “Federation” and how they play a role in Slipways?

The Federation are basically your bosses – you’re the governor in charge of expansion into new, uncharted sectors. The Federation is building on the ruins of a much older “First Empire”. It’s made up of five different races, each with their own ideas on how the universe should be run. The Federation’s impact on the game revolves around your relationship with each individual race. Gameplay-wise:

– Council members give you missions to perform, which you can accept or refuse

– They also take part in random events: when something happens, the council members advise different courses of action

– Your choices with regard to missions, events, etc. affect your standing with each of the races

– At the end of each scenario, the council votes on whether you should stay on as governor (based on how well you achieved the goals, but also on how much they like you)

The story layer is still in flux, so it might turn out a little bit different in the finished product – but the gameplay ideas should be solid.

6) What more do you plan to add to Slipways?

Most of the Federation layer which I explained in 5, which boils down to missions, random events on planets, and a campaign mode. Way more technologies than exist in the original, giving you new ways to establish connections, new ways to control the shape of the universe (planetary engines to move things around and the like), new ways to utilize planets. Planetary improvements – buildings to place on planets, basically, though in a more limited fashion than most 4X games. Lots of gameplay improvements increasing the depth and variety of gameplay – new resources and planet types, modifiers that change how planets work, etc. A lot of UI polish and smaller gameplay improvements.

Most of the improvements are intended as “more stuff”, while still keeping the core rules simple and easy to grasp. I’d also like to focus on the new player experience, making the learning curve as gentle as possible – which is unfortunately not possible in the PICO-8 version.

7) Are you expecting to release Slipways into Early Access?

It’s too early to tell. I’d like to, and I appreciate player feedback at every stage of the development process. That said, I’m looking at various solutions for funding further development of Slipways right now and I might not be 100% free to make this decision. If not Early Access, I will definitely want to do some form of beta program to learn the players’ opinions and adjust the game accordingly.

8) What made you decide to remake Slipways from its pixelated free version to a modern-looking paid product?

The PICO-8 version was actually meant as a prototype for a larger game from the very beginning. While I was working on it, I found a way to trim it down so that it could be a good game in its own regard and figured I might as well release the “prototype” as its own title. That paid off really well, with lots of player interest on itch.io and lots of useful feedback coming out of it. But the idea was a little bigger than the PICO-8 version from the start.

9) Lastly, when do you expect the public to get their hands on Slipways?

I’m not able to give you a date just yet, but I’m planning for a release in the first half of 2021. The quality of the game takes priority – if I feel the game is not ready, I will prefer pushing back the release date to releasing something inferior.

Thanks again to Jakub for taking the time to answer our questions about this promising title! Expect more about Slipways in the future as we carefully watch its development! If you’re interested in playing it, or keeping an eye on it, too, direct your browsers here https://krajzeg.itch.io/slipways and to https://slipways.net/.

Until next time, keep eXploring!